C. H. Spurgeon · 46 of 63

Sermon 268. The Ceremony of Laying the First Stone of the New Tabernacle · Part 3

The following verses were then sung:—

All hail the power of Jesus’ name!

Let angels prostrate fall:

Bring forth the royal diadem,

And crown him lord of all.

Let every kingred, every tribe,

One thuis terrestrial ball,

To him all majest ascribe,

And crown him Lord of all.

Numerous donations were then placed upon the stone, after which the assembly separated.

EVENING MEETING

A PUBLIC TEA MEETING was held in the evening in REA’S Repository which was appropriately fitted up for the occasion. About two thousand persons sat down to tea at five o’clock, and at half-past six, the cloth having been removed, and the seats re-arranged, the chair was taken by the Right Hon. the LORD MAYOR.

The Doxology having been sung, the Rev. JOHN SPURGEON (father of the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon) offered up prayer as follows:—

OUR Father and our God, we supplicate thy blessing upon us at this time. O may we feel thy presence to be in the midst of us. May we realize thee as a God of love in Jesus Christ, and O do thou send that rich blessing which shall make us all happy and fill our hearts with joy through the precious Saviour who bled and died for us. We thank thee that we have lived to see this happy day. O our Father, may we never forget thy goodness and mercy to us. Accept the free will offerings of thy people, and O may that foundation stone which is laid to-day be blessed by thee, and may that building be erected to thy glory, honor, and praise. May we each be made living stones of that living temple which is to adorn the world of glory, and may we live there for ever with Jesus Christ. O bless us all; and bless thy young servant. Do thou stand by him and keep him from the mighty foes against whom he has to contend. Keep far from him the influence of sin and Satan, and may he find joy and peace in God. O our Father, keep him,O keep him, let him not be lifted up by what he has seen, or by what thou hast done for him today. Oh do thou keep his soul humble, and then he will always be strong to praise thy great and holy name. Oh, may he draw from that fountain which is full—which runneth over, and may he find that the God of peace and love is continually with him. Bless, his church and congregation, O Father smile upon them. We leave them in thy hands; we seek thy favor and presence with us tonight. Grant, great God, that sinners may be converted unto thee. There are some in thy presence who are but a few steps from the grave, some hastening on to the abyss of woe, walking with the giddy multitude in the way which leads to death and eternal destruction. God save them! Oh, pluck them as brands from the eternal burning! May thine all-sufficient grace turn their hearts, and thy name be glorified! Bless every one now present. Prepare us for this service, accept our song of praise, and fill our hearts with joy, for the dear Redeemer’s sake. Amen.

The LORD MAYOR said: My Christian friends, I do not think that it is possible for me to be heard at the extremity of the building, but, if you will have patience with me, I trust I shall be able to get up my voice so that every one shall hear. This is a happy day, a day long to be remembered in the annals of the country, because here to-day, we are permitted to meet in quietness, in order, with the guardians of the peace around us to prevent any disturbance; a proof that civil liberty and religious freedom have made great advances in this country. In former days we had to meet in holes and corners and alleys, but now we can meet in open day in the front of the high road, inviting the assembled public to come and be witnesses of the order of our ceremonies, and to partake of the benefits which are to be derived therefrom. I therefore urge upon all, when they have anything to do with the question of civil and religious liberty, never to give up their efforts until they see it extended far and wide. Our beloved young friend has, through the providence of God, been raised up to gather the largest congregation ever gathered together; he has dispensed the truth as it is in Jesus to thousands upon thousands; and he is a despised—no, an honored Baptist minister. He comes amongst you, not in Episcopal guise, clothed in secular authority, and robed in the habiliments of office, but he comes amongst you a simplehearted man. He comes clothed in the authority of his divine Lord and Master, speaking the truth in simplicity and love, winning, not by human power, but subduing by the power of the gospel. Evidently God has called him to do a great work; and you are the people who ought to love and honor him, esteeming him for his work’s sake, and ever protecting him against the calumnies of the world, to prove that he is a true servant of Jesus Christ. I have said you ought to adhere to the principles of civil and religious liberty; but for them you never could have seen the thousands at the laying of the foundation stone; but for them you would not have been gathered together now in peace and safety and an honor be to the men in church or state, who during the past centuries have suffered advocated, bled and died, that you might meet in peace and comfort. Well, when you hear of the assumptions of church authority, remember that if they are not sanctioned by the gospel of Jesus Christ, the world may fight for them, but truth will prevail; and though our Episcopal brethren have the authority of the state, and the wealth of the state, tell them that you envy neither, because you can proceed without the authority of the state, and you can raise money without its power to compel. When they tell you that there is no certainty in the doctrine taught in the Dissenting congregations, that they have no creed, you can reply, they have a creed—the best, the purest that ever man possessed. Their creed is the Bible. They glory in the saying of one of the churchmen, “The Bible, the Bible, the Bible only is the religion of Protestants.” We stand in an age when Popery is making a large aggression upon the religious liberties of the people—secretly, silently, openly, and boldly. They are anticipating the time when they shall take possession of the cathedrals and churches, and once more dominate over the English people. But religious liberty is safe in your hands. You will endeavor, I am sure, so to hold the word of truth, that it may everywhere prove a barrier against the approaches of error. The Tabernacle which is to rear its walls in the adjoining ground is to be consecrated not by the authority of men, but by the dependence of men upon the teachings of the Holy Spirit. The gospel, and the gospel only, is there to be preached: sinners are to be invited to Christ, and the full sufficiently of his salvation is to be maintained. We do not despise things in their proper order. The ordinances of the church will be respected by its worshippers, and it will be necessary therefore, not only that the gospel should be preached, but that you who hear it are to be “living epistles, seen and read of all men,” of the power, the truth, the purity, the holiness, enjoined by the gospel. It is a solemn charge committed to your trust, and woe be unto you if you neglect the sound, and swerve from the gospel. And then to maintain the gospel it is not only necessary that you should love it and have it, but that you should do all in your power to propagate it everywhere—to rich and to poor, to learned and to unlearned; to all classes and conditions of people the gospel is to be preached. You can preach it as well as your pastor,—he in the pulpit, you in your lives. There are Missionary Societies which will require your aid, and though you tarry at home, you have a power to prevail in earnest supplication before the throne of divine grace, that all the labors you undertake may be blessed. And then you have something else to do with the work at home; the gospel is to be preached in your Tabernacle, but that will not be sufficient, if you do not go abroad, and carry with you the essential principles that you have received, and tell the people that they may see from your walk and conversation, that you have sat under one of the most successful and useful of Christ’s ministers, and that you have learned from him to do your duty to your neighbors. Remember “the poor ye have always with you.” What a blessed and happy thing that is that you have the poor with you and that they are standing monuments by which you may prove your faith in Jesus Christ. Let it not be said, that while ye hear the gospel you have forgotten to practice it. I beg to commend you and your work to the blessing of him who along can make it prosper. May this be but the beginning of the undertakings throughout the country, where the Dissenting places of worship, like the palaces of our land, may stand as landmarks to prove the onward progress of society, and that among Protestant Dissenters there is loyalty to the Queen, obedience to the laws, a desire to promote the wellbeing of society, and to make this nation blessed, peaceful, and happy, until, as from Zion, the perfection of beauty, the glory of the Lord may shine upon all the earth.

The Rev. C. H. SPURGEON: I have but a word or two to say with regard to the order of the meeting. I feel myself so extremely ill just now that I must go away for a little time, I nevertheless may say a word or two. There is a large amount of talent here to-night, far more than we can bring out. Here are dozens of ministers, all of whom could speak to edification. I trust none of them will think that any invidious distinction is made when we call upon one and not mother. For myself I have this much to say—thanks, thanks to every one. My Lord Mayor, I have to thank you sincerely for your kindness in coming this evening. I hardly expected you, knowing how it has pleased God to lay the heavy hand of affliction upon out I thank God that you are able to come, and I thank you for the will to come. May every blessing rest upon your head, and when earthly honors shall fade before your eye, may you have the more lasting glories and the eternal splendours which God has prepared for his faithful servants! I have to thank a large number of ministers who are not here for their kind letters; especially must I mention the name of that honored father of all the Dissenting churches, the Rev. John Angell James, of Birmingham. There is no name I think just now that ought to be more venerated than his. Long has he worn the harness, and in the kind letter which he sent me he said his work was done, and he could do but little more to serve his Master. It was just like his humility. I had written to him sometime before expressing my candid opinion concerning him, and my hearty respect; and he told me that I was mistaken in him. I am quite sure that I was not. I know that I could not think too highly of him. My dear friend, Dr. Campbell sent me a note to-day, that he read in the papers that this strike had put off the laying of the first stone. He should have learned by this time, as an editor, to believe nothing he sees in the newspapers unless he himself knows it to be true. I confess I take a tattle time to chew everything I read there; I am not clear upon it the first time I see it. If I were clear upon it, my dear friends, this chapel would need no subscriptions from you. I only wish newspapers would make true what they say about me—not in the abuse line, but with regard to this magnificent fortune which they had the generosity to confer upon me. I mean to distribute the dividends of this fortune among the newspapers, and much good may the share do to each of them. No one has left me a sixpence. The headache and the sickness I now feel almost seem to say that somebody is thinking of doing so. Don’t do it. It is the ruin of many ministers. It is no use your giving them money: give them a right good income every year for their preaching. I can say, with regard to that, that I have nothing more to ask, or to desire, but I am afraid that if minister get money they will have the bronchitis, and all the rest of it. It is such a common thing that I hope no one will try me. I say again, I have to thank many who are not here, and then I have to thank the brethren that are here. I did not think there were so many of them that loved me. I do feel quite beaten up to-night I sometimes say some hard things. Well, I shall go on, but they will have no reference to the brethren here, I dare say. I am sure if they think that I should be hard or unkind towards any of them, they do not know me. When all the world abused me I just bent my fist and set my teeth together and said, “I’m a match for you.” But no sooner did the papers begin to praise me some little than they brought tears in my eyes, for I began to say, “No, I do not deserve that; I cannot take that credit to myself.” If any man wants to make me preach more vigorously than I have against any doctrine, let him abuse me, and the doctrines I preach, and I will soon come out strong upon it, rest assured. The only danger we fear is—being thrown off our guard by success. But this I rejoice to know, wherever God puts his servants they are safe. I have sometimes met with some minister who has an average congregation of fifty, perhaps, whose back was as stiff as possible, and whose neck was never bent, and he has said, “My dear brother, you are in a very dangerous position; I hope you will not be carried away with pride.” Poor dear soul! I thought if he had kept his advice to himself it might, perhaps, have been profitable to him. I do feel myself crushed down by the weight of divine mercy; I am bowed to the very earth by it, I know not what to say to you to-night, nor how to express my thoughts and feelings. Glory be to him that hath done all this! May he continue to bless! But even should he stay his hand, if I were laid aside and could never preach again, I feel I have such mercies that I must praise him throughout eternity for what I have received. Again I say, to him be glory! Yet I do thank my kind and loving friends from many a fond expression of affection that I have received this day. Oh, my dear friends, pray for all the ministers of Christ, that God would make them more abundantly useful. Ask for us more liberty in speech, more unction on our heads and in our hearts; ask for us a greater intensity of agony on account of the souls of men, ask for us greater earnestness in prayer. Pray for us that we may be masters of the sacred art of wrestling with God. Pray for us that a revival of religion may come into this land. What is Ireland that it should have a revival denied to us? What is Scotland that it should be stirred, and we should sleep? God hath blessed this nation first and foremost aforetime—why not now? Let us cry unto him mightily, and he will hear our prayers, and grant us his richest blessing. Before I sit down, I would ask the Lord Mayor kindly to forgive me for being long, but not to let any speaker speak more than ten minutes, as there are so many to address us. Then I want to observe that our dear brother, Mr. Joynson, the second most liberal subscriber to our fund, would have been here, but that he is sore sick, and has had to remove to Teignmouth. I wrote to him, hearing that he was near death’s door, and he wrote me a kind reply, saying that he was not so bad as I thought, but he was far too in to come. Pray for him that he may be restored. He is a very prince in Israel in his generosity; he hath served this cause, and may God Almighty bless him! I must also publicly acknowledge my obligations to the Crystal Palace Company for the use of chairs this day. I suppose I did them a good turn once. I did it, however, out of love to those poor creatures who were injured in India, and out of a desire to preach the gospel to the great numbers assembled in that building. Still it was very kind of them so to act. Some places of worship in the neighborhood, have denied us the use of forms and the like; the Crystal Palace Company have kindly done it for us.

The Rev. W. G. LEWIS, of Westbourne Grove. My Lord, ladies, and gentlemen: I have been thinking since the commencement of this meeting, if it were possible, that one or two of the humble Godly folk, who two centuries since assembled with prayers and tears in Horseliedown, to commence an obscure and almost unknown Baptist church could have foreseen the gatherings of this day, and the still further events in the future connected with this Tabernacle, how marvellously overwhelming, how astounding to the sense, how almost beyond the power of their credulity would have been the prospect. Verily, this church connected with New Park Street, has been a chosen object of the divine regard. In the characters of the excellent men of God who have been its pastors, in the wondrous success that they have attained, in the conversion of sinners and the recovery of lost souls to Jesus Christ, its past annals have been truly wondrous, and nothing is certainly more wonderful than that portion of its history which attaches to our beloved brother, Mr. Spurgeon. I beseech you, Christian friend, who are connected with the church as its members, to respond to that appeal which God in his mercy makes to you today, to offer unto him the sacrifices of thanksgiving and of praise. I say that your experience and that of your ancestors demand to-day a tribute of unwonted extent, both as to the feeling of your hearts and as to the action of your hands. It becomes you indeed to remember well those touching, those beauteous annals to which we have listened already, and which I trust the committee in charge of the operations connected with your building, will print and promulgate far and wide. And oh, my dear friends, when I look upon the vast extent of this meeting, and reflect that very seldom, if ever, has there been such a congregation, even in this metropolis upon such an occasion as this, I feel constrained to address my brethren in the ministry also to hear the appeal which God in his providence makes to them, to be faithful, uncompromising, simple, and bold in their declaration of gospel truths. What a marvellous blessing is that which God hath poured out upon this stripling! How has he been pleased as of olden time to select his own instrument where men little thought—to call him forth, and try place him before the eyes not merely of this million-peopled city, but of our whole country, and I trust that when the reports of this day’s proceedings have gone forth on the swift wings of the press, the country will feel that Spurgeon and his people are in their hearts, and that they have a claim not merely upon denominations, but upon all who love the Saviour. The man is national property. They know it on the other side of the Atlantic, and I, as I believe him not to be present, I say it with the greater freedom—Mr. Spurgeon’s conduct in relation to that American proposal to procure his labors on the other side of the Atlantic—his noble conduct upon that occasion, wholly in harmony with all the other acts of his public career, demands some acknowledgment from the Christians of England. He might have money enough for his Tabernacle if he would stoop to the course that men of the world would dictate. Before my ten minutes have elapsed, I must be allowed to ask the members of Mr. Spurgeon’s church, as individuals, have you done what you ought in contributing to this building? I ask have you done what a congregation, I believe I may say of five thousand persons, ought to have done? Do that and then I am sure the country will share your feelings, approve of your self-denial, and complete what is wanting. Oh, it is a blessing even to have been present at the proceedings of this day—we will cherish the memory of it to life’s latest moment. It is a greater blessing still to have had the mind to work, and to put forth the hand in exertion towards the completion of this undertaking. I beseech you, therefore, every one of you, do your share, either in giving, or in collecting; and fear not that God in his mercy, who has hitherto so marvellously prospered you in days of darkness, in times of peril and persecution—who has blessed you so much in the person and ministry of your beloved pastor, will in the future annals of this New Tabernacle, still more abundantly and more wondrously shower down upon you of his heavenly favor and most divine regard.

The Rev. EVAN P ROBERT of Bristol: My Lord Mayor, and Christian friends, I cannot less than say, “Blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear,” what your ancestors desired to see and to hear. We must consider ourselves this day highly privileged in being permitted to meet on such a very important and delightful occasion. I need not tell you, because your esteemed chairman has announced it, that I am come from the city of Bristol—a city where your pastor is very highly esteemed and beloved, a city ready to receive him with open heart and arms; a city in which Christians of all denominations hailed with gladness the approach of my dear brother Spurgeon, and I have not the shadow of a doubt, from my knowledge of Bristol, that the Christians in that city will be ever ready to contribute their mite towards the erection of that large building, the foundation of which has been laid this day. The first time that I had the privilege of meeting with Mr. Spurgeon, I felt that I loved him; and my love to him has increased with my acquaintance with him. I feel this evening, as I have felt before, a deep interest in the movement that is now going on in this place, and I am sanguine as to its results. I have not the shadow of a doubt that by the time the last stone is to be placed upon the building, the money will be forthcoming, and our esteemed brother will have to ascend the pulpit and preach the unsearchable riches of Christ, in a chapel out of debt. I could not less than think, Christian friends, while our excellent chairman was addressing us on the subject of civil and religious liberty, that we ought all to be thankful, and not only so, but that we ought to be more zealous to maintain our ground, and to make advances in that respect. I rejoice that, notwithstanding all the oppositions that are made to the progress of civil and religious liberty, it is going forward—going forward in the metropolis—going forward in the provinces—going forward through the length and breadth of the land, in spite of the Puseyism, of the Popery, of the infidelity, and all the power of that is brought to bear to oppose it; it is a principle that must go on and prevail, until it shall be felt throughout the habitable world. I am afraid to trespass on your time. We Welshmen are very dangerous: when we begin to speak and get the steam up a little, we hardly know where to stop. You must tell me therefore when my time is up, for I find I cannot trust myself. I have been thinking with regard to the stone that is laid to-day, that it stands there as a witness of the working of the voluntary principle. Some people have told us that the principle has failed. Where has it failed? Wherever it has been exercised, wherever it has had fair play, it has done great things. What has erected our chapels? What has erected, too, some of the churches in our land? Why, the voluntary principle. And what has moved my esteemed friend, Mr. Spurgeon, and his beloved people to take this very important, this noble step, but the voluntary principle working in their hearts? There is no compulsion from the throne, all the compulsion they have is the love of Christ in their souls. May God increase that principle a thousand-fold! What has made my brother Spurgeon so popular?—to use the term, for want of better? What has given him such power with the people in this city, and wherever he has gone? It is this; he has preached the full and plain gospel, and the Spirit of God has rested upon his words. That stone stands as a witness of the power of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, as preached by our little stripling, our little David, who has been the means of effecting such good. And not only so, we see that stone as a witness of the faithfulness of God to his church. God has said that he would be with his people always, even to the end of the world. That stone stands as a witness there, and stone upon stone as it is laid upon it will give an additional testimony to the fidelity of him who said, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” That stone stands as a witness to angels to devils, to infidels, and to the Christian church, of the zeal of the people of God at Park Street. May that zeal burn as a vehement flame! May it break out on the right hand, and on the left, and may your liberality be exercised until the whole money for the Tabernacle shall be contributed, and the building be completed, and out of debt. I hope the blessing of God will attend this meeting; that it will be the means of stirring up our brethren in the provinces, and reviving religion in the land, that we shall have some of the showers that are descending upon Ireland and Scotland, and that this shall be the beginning of better days. God grant that it may be so! Only let us retire from this place imploring God’s blessing and devoting ourselves to his service, and the showers will come down, for God has said, “As the snow and the rain cometh down from heaven and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth and maketh it bring forth and bud, so shall my Word be that cometh forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall prosper in the thing whereunto I have sent it.”

The Rev. JOHN SPURGEON: My Lord Mayor, I am very happy to meet you to-night. We are Essex men; we come from Colchester. Colchester has something to boast of great men. The chief physician of London comes from Colchester, the Lord Mayor comes from Colchester; and I need not tell you who else. I have never had the headache in my life, friends; but if I ever had it, it would have been to-day. I feel nervous and excited. But I do feel very happy to-day to acknowledge my fault; and when a man confesses his faults, he has done a great deal towards amending them. I always thought my son did wrong in coming to London, now you see that I was wrong. I always thought he was wrong in not going to college, I tried three or four hours with him one night with a dear friend that loved him, but it was no use; he said, “No, I will never go to college, only in strict obedience to you as a father.” There I left the matter; and I see that God has been with him, though I thought it was a wrong step in him to go to London. And I thought it was a wrong step for me to come here to-night, but perhaps I may be mistaken again. I can tell you it is one of the happiest days of my life. I feel beyond myself when I think of the kindness that has been shown to him when but a youth. I ascribe it all to God’s goodness and the earnest prayers of his people. He has been exposed to temptations from every source, and even now, my friends, he is not free from it. You have prayed for him, and God has sustained him. Oh! let me entreat you to continue your prayers. Every one here to-night go home and pray for your pastor. A meeting like this is enough to carry a man beyond himself and fill his heart with pride; but the grace of God is all-sufficient. Several persons said to me—I do not know what their motive was—“Your son will never last in London six months, he has no education” I said, “You are terribly mistaken, he has the best education that can possibly be had, God has been his teacher, and he has had earthly teachers too.” I knew, as far as education went, he could manage London very well. Then they said his health would fail; but it has not failed him yet He has had enough to shake his constitution, it is true, but God has been very merciful to him. I think if there is one thing that would crown my happiness today, it would have been to see his grandfather here. I should have loved to see him here. He said, “Boy, don’t ask me to go, I am too old; I am overcome with God’s goodness and mercy to me.” He is always talking about him. Old people like to have something to talk about, so talks about his grandson. And next to that I should like, my dear friends, to have seen his mother here. I believe, under God’s grace, his mother has been the means of leading him to Christ. You are well aware that I go and talk in the best manner I can to a few poor people on the Sabbath day, and God has blessed my labors. I thought, however, I ought not to go out on the Sabbath day, as God’s people should train up their children in the best way they: can, I thought I was neglecting my children, and as I came home one evening about seven o’clock, and went upstairs, I heard the voice of a mother pleading for her boy Charles, and talking to him and the others, and pouring her heart out in prayer in such a way as I never did in my life, and as I never heard before. It is for the encouragement of mothers that I mention this, that you may pray for your children for God is a prayer-hearing and prayer answering God. My heart is too full to say more. May God bless you and keep you, and may we be brought together when this building shall be finished, and entirely out of debt! I hope to-night that some gentlemen will come forward and give each one hundred pounds. You know we must work as well as pray, and there has been a kind offer made to-night, that if twenty hundred pounds are laid down, a gentleman will double it. I trust, therefore, our good friends will come forward and make their free-will offerings to that God who has done so much for them. Oh, may God bless you all, for Christ s sake! Amen.